Austin Erickson’s interview with Fargo-based Below Zero Wrestling Owner Nick Stokke.
FARGO, ND – The wrestling world is still mourning the loss of 12-time world wrestling champion Hulk Hogan. TMZ reported earlier this morning that Hogan, 71, died after Clearwater, Florida, police responded to a medical call for cardiac arrest.
Local wrestling fans, including the owner of Below Zero Wrestling, Nick Stokke, are still processing the passing of the legend.
“Hulk Hogan is an icon of professional wrestling,” he said. “So it’s definitely a sad day for the wrestling community.”
For wrestling enthusiasts like Stokke, Hogan is ‘the reason that we still love wrestling today.’
“When it became mainstream, Hulk Hogan was that first superhero, that first true icon of professional wrestling that so many of us as children grew to love,” he said.
The Hall of Fame wrestler wasn’t just known for his moves in the ring. He played parts in six movies between 1982 and 1998, appeared in a 1992 commercial for Right Guard deodorant and starred his own television show, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994.
“He was kind of around everything,” Stokke said. “(He) tried his hand in multiple movies, some of them good, some of them not so good.”
After stepping away from the World Wrestling Federation in 1981, Hogan returned in 1983 – where he reinvented himself as Hulkamania.
In 1994, at Bash at the Beach, Hogan helped found the New World Order.
“He turned on the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and joined Scott Hall and Kevin Nash,” Stokke said. “That’s considered maybe the greatest heel turn of all time, maybe one of the most iconic wrestling moments of all time.”
Former WCW wrestler to take part in event at The Lights in West Fargo
Former WCW wrestler Buff Bagwell, part of the New World Order, is set to be at a Below Zero Wrestling event at the Essentia Health Plaza at The Lights in West Fargo on August 16. Bagwell recently had his leg amputated, but Stokke confirmed he’ll be at the event.
“He told me, ‘I’m gonna be there. I’m Buff. I’m the stuff and the fans aren’t gonna be able to get enough’,” Stokke said.
The West Fargo event is likely one of the first events Bagwell will participate in after the amputation.
Tickets for the event are available by clicking here.
